In the original dust jacket. Cloth binding with gilt title on the spine.

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Ok, most of the pictures are in black and white. Ok, the author has been dead for years. Why would anyone possibly want to read this book today? Because it’s not only totally brilliant, it’s gobsmackingly well-written and, indeed, as relevant as ever; that’s why.

Instead of a rambling introductory essay full of obscure theoretical terms and ideas cribbed from Derrida, we dive straight into the gist. The preface simply tells us, in a few lines, that this is the book of the TV series. Chapter One is titled “David” (ie Jacques-Louis David, painter of “The Death of Marat” and artistic chronicler of the French Revolution) and, using the painter as his example, Clark plunges us into a vivid yet lucidly theoretical explanation of his subject, setting it in the background of the art of the Enlightenment.

Clark is never dry. Without stooping to silly gimmicks or trivialisation, he makes the subject vibrate with interest. The chapter headings follow the format of the original TV series, and each is centred on a key figure (other artists are brought in for comparison and contrast). The artists featured, for anyone who needs to know, are David, Piranesi, Fuseli, Goya, Ingres, Blake, Gericault, Delacroix, Turner, Constable, Millet, Degas and Rodin. Reported speech, personal opinion and colourful anecdote help his argument roll along but the real strength of this book is Clark’s unrivalled ability to get across quite subtle and complex artistic analysis in the clearest, most accessible language. Every student of art history should read this book, and it is entirely suitable for school students and the interested lay reader.